CHAMPCAR/CART: Penske Picks Honda for Next Season

Penske Picks Honda for Next Season
Moore, de Ferran to test new engine/chassis combination.
by Bob Judd
Marlboro Team Penske announced late Monday afternoon that it is switching
from Mercedes to Honda next year. One of the most storied and...

Penske Picks Honda for Next Season

Moore, de Ferran to test new engine/chassis combination.

by Bob Judd

Marlboro Team Penske announced late Monday afternoon that it is switching
from Mercedes to Honda next year. One of the most storied and successful
teams in racing, Marlboro Team Penske has been struggling for the past two
seasons.

Earlier this season, Roger Penske announced he was letting his veteran
driver Al Unser Jr. go, and had hired Greg Moore and Gil de Ferran for
next year. Then came the announcement that the Penske chassis would give
way to the Reynard chassis that has dominated the FedEx championship since
1995.

Team Marlboro and Little Al won Indy 500 1994 with a Mercedes Penske.
Those 1,000-horsepower "stock blocks" were Mercedes' first official
venture into CART. Marlboro Penske also won the championship that year,
although the engine was badged Ilmor.

Roger Penske jointly owns Ilmor with Mercedes and Ilmor partners Mario
Illen and Paul Morgan. So the switch to Honda can't have been made
lightly. The latest generation of Mercedes CART engines is a marvel of
compact engineering, visibly smaller than engines from rivals Honda and
Ford. But the drivers have complained that it is hard to drive on road
courses.

Gil de Ferran and Greg Moore will be testing and developing the new
Honda-powered Reynard chassis after the 1999 season ends at Fontana at the
end of this month.